Commercial, warehouse spaces take shape

Logger's Lane emerging on West U.S. 40

Concrete is poured, walls are going up, and calls are rolling in about Logger's Lane, a commercial center being built on West U.S. Highway 40.

Just east of the new Cook Chevrolet building, Logger's Lane will include highway-frontage commercial units and warehouse spaces in the back.

The commercial units are available for lease, purchase or lease-to-purchase options, and the warehouse units are being offered for sale only.

"We're having overwhelming response on the back units," said listing broker Ron Wendler of Colorado Group Realty.

In general, he is fielding at least two calls a day from property investors and local businesses interested in relocating, expanding or owning their own space.

As expected, several home-improvement businesses -- including plumbing supply, lighting, granite and interior design firms -- are among those attracted to the commercial building's high-profile location.

The 15,000-square-foot building will have six commercial spaces with large, east-facing windows providing showroom exposure.

Law offices wanting to be closer to the new justice center, planned next to the Routt County Sheriff's Office nearby, also have been interested in the spaces.

The developer would be willing to divide one of the 2,500-square-foot units into office space, Wendler said.

And there may be hope for workers and residents yearning for more food choices west of town. An end commercial unit in the Logger's Lane building would be a good spot for a restaurant, Wendler said.

"Location is just key," he said. "This has the exposure and location for all types of businesses."

The commercial units are priced in the mid-$500,000s for purchase or $17.81 to $18.40 per square foot for lease.

Warehouse units in the western-most building will be about 1,000 square feet. Those units are priced at $162,000 to $167,000.

Some businesses have been interested in one of each kind of unit.

The Logger's Lane complex will have entrances off U.S. 40 and Shield Drive and a contemporary mountain design, similar to that of the High Mountain Sotheby's International Realty building on South U.S. 40, Wendler said.

Charlie Sher, a part-time Steamboat Springs resident, is developing Logger's Lane as well as the Sundance Creek condominiums.

Logger's Lane units should be complete in mid-November, Wendler said.

Three warehouse units are under contract, and he expects more to be in the contract process in the coming months.

Two or three businesses may end up buying the whole front building, Wendler said.